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Karur farmers demand steps for safe disposal of sludge

KARUR: Demanding that the universally accepted concept of ‘polluter pays’ be applied to those who generate hazardous sludge at Karur, the affected farmers have demanded immediate remedial measures and a study to work out safe disposal of the sludge.

Reacting to reports about the huge accumulation of sludge generated by the effluent treatment plants at Karur, Mannargudi S. Ranganathan, chairman of the Cauvery Delta Development Studies and general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers

A timeframe should be set for clearing the sludge, he said. More importantly, the dyeing and bleaching units, which profited from the degeneration of natural resources, must pay for the safe disposal of the sludge and they should not be allowed to tap public money, Mr. Ranganathan said.

He demanded that the authorities take more effective steps to tackle sludge, especially the pollution of the Noyyal by the effluents from the dyeing and bleaching units at Tirupur.

The effluent-mixed water from Tirupur collected at the Orathupalayam reservoir and polluted the Noyyal. In turn, the Noyyal polluted the Cauvery, the most important source of irrigation for the delta.